~Cody~

Cody didn't really like to hate, but since he was wearing an apron and a long-sleeved shirt and pants, he really couldn't bring himself to like hot weather. He did, however, really like his friends. Don't we all?

He stayed nearby his twin sister Clover, wiping sweat off his brow. She and Percy were walking side by side; Percy was blushing quite a bit. Cody was glad his sister wasn't mad at Percy anymore. Cody found Percy a bit strange sometimes, but he generally enjoyed Percy's presence.

Cody gazed at Faye and Melody. He thought Faye was nice. Quiet, but nice. Melody was strict, but Cody liked her too. Brayden was ahead, checking out his phone. Frisk was with him. Cody liked Brayden, even if he was loud and ever so slightly annoying.

And Frisk, well… Frisk was amazing. They were so generous and caring, but also brave and determined. Cody hoped he could be just like them. His sister said he was too nice, but Cody couldn't help it. He was going to be kind to everyone, like his mom wanted him to…

Cody's phone buzzed. So did everyone else's. Alphys had posted a status on the Undernet.

ALPHYS: just realized i didn't watch undyne fight the humans. well i know shes unbeatable I'll ask her abt it later ^_^

PercyLovesAnime: It's a shame you didn't get to watch that, I had an awesome transformation scene that was soooo anime.

Cookingismylife6: what does so anime mean?

~MelodyTrust~: Just some of his jargon.

sevenleafclover: guys why are we posting online we can just talk irl

👍SUPERMAN👍: WAIT WHO THE HECK ARE ALL YOU GUYS?! I'M SO CONFUSED 0_0

The kids approached a bunch of conveyor belts.

"AWESOME!" Brayden yelled.

"Looks dizzy." Melody commented. Cody had to agree.

alphys: for now i gotta call up the humans and guide them ^-^

~MelodyTrust~: That won't be necessary, we have Frisk. Right?

FriskyBits:D: I'll see what I can do!

Cody, riding on the conveyor belt, wasn't really looking where he was going. He ran into a monster named Vulkin. It was a volcano-like monster with little legs.

"You're adorable!" Cody squeaked, wrapping his arms around the mini volcano. It burned his skin. His HP decreased. But the Vulkin cheered so brightly Cody couldn't bring himself to be angry.

"Bro!" his overprotective sister, however, got very angry. She joined the battle. She had her hand on her pistol, which was a gift from her dad. She glared at the Vulkin.

"It's just a little monster, sis…" Cody told Clover.

"Vulkin is helping!" Vulkin cheered.

"See?" Cody asked, smiling.

Clover didn't look convinced. Cody pouted. His sister was too stubborn.

"Aww, that's adorable…" Faye said, admiring the Vulkin.

The kids went on more conveyor belts.

"Whee." Percy said emotionlessly, riding on a conveyor belt. Cody stood next to Frisk, and the two shared a friendly smile.

"I wish I could be as nice as you, Frisk," Cody told them.

"You already are," Frisk giggled, putting their arm around him.

ALPHYS: gonna call them in a minute ^.^

sevenleafclover: you said that a min ago pardner…

The kids continued walking across conveyor belts. Cody found them kind of fun, but he wasn't sure the others did. Melody didn't. Percy was holding onto his notebook for dear life. Faye didn't seem to like them too much. Frisk seemed neutral.

"THESE ARE THE BEST!" Brayden yelled. He ran ahead. Melody chased after him, stopping him from falling over.

i'mfayedingaway: i think its really pretty here, am i the only one?

~MelodyTrust~: You think everywhere is pretty, Faye. There's lava and stuff everywhere! I'm boiling. How is this pretty?

FriskyBits:D: There's beauty in everything if you know where to look!

~MelodyTrust~: I just realised Faye's username is a pun…

👍SUPERMAN👍: WAIT IT IS?

i'mfayedingaway: hee hee

sevenleafclover: guys seriously we can talk irl we're right next to each other

PercyLovesAnime: 'Talking irl' is for people who are actually social, unlike me. I am an anti-social garbage can of a human.

Cookingismylife6: no you're not! you're great, Percy!

PercyLovesAnime: Great at being an antisocial garbage can of a human, that is.

~MelodyTrust~: Percy I will smack you in real-life if you don't shush.

👍SUPERMAN👍: I'M CONFUSED WHAT'S HAPPENING?!

Frisk did that strange thing where they paused for a moment at a random spot, hand out. Cody gave them an odd look, walking over to them.

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking," he began. "Why do you sometimes randomly stand still for a few seconds…?"

Frisk made a face. "I don't know. I just like to stop and think sometimes."

"Fair enough," Cody shrugged.

"STEAM VENTS!" Brayden yelled, eyeing some steam vents ahead. "I LOVE THIS PLACE!"

ALPHYS: I HATE USING THE PHONE I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS LMAO ^.^

PercyLovesAnime: I also have a strong aversion to calling people.

~MelodyTrust~: Oh for goodness' sake Percy…

"Oh, jumping!" Melody exclaimed, eyeing the vents. She eagerly hopped over to the vents.

… but Tsunderplane got in the way! Not on purpose or anything.

"Are you kidding me?!" Melody groaned.

"Tsundere!" Percy gasped. He joined Melody.

So did Frisk. They got close to Tsunderplane. But not too close.

"Eeeh?" Tsunderplane asked, blushing. "Human…?"

Frisk sensually stroked Tsunderplane's wings. Clover covered Cody's eyes and Melody covered Brayden's eyes. Faye watched Percy taking notes.

Clover led her brother over to vents. They flew over the pits of boiling lava. Clover grabbed his arm, shaking. Cody decided to tolerate it.

Clover led him over the vents. She was using her other hand to hold onto her hat.

They were actually getting ahead of the others, aside from Brayden, who was always ahead. Clover faced Cody.

"Cody," she said. They were standing on a path. Cody eyed his sister. "I wanted to say-"

ALPHYS: omg ive had my claw over the last digit for five minutes omg i'm just gonna do it i'm just gonna call!

👍SUPERMAN👍: WELL HURRY THE HECK UP!

~MelodyTrust~: Don't rush her, Brayden! That's so rude!

Clover groaned, rolling her eyes. "I don't really like this UnderNet stuff. We're pretty much next to each other, ain't we?" She paused. "I wanted to say-"

"WASSUP!" Brayden jumped in between them and grabbed their shoulders, a big grin on his face.

"You guys okay?" Frisk asked, popping up as well.

Cody bit his lip. Two people were holding him now. He liked hugs but this seemed a little overkill.

"All good," Clover nodded, folding her arms.

"You three!" Melody came over as well. Percy and Faye were following her. "Try to stick together or we'll get lost!"

"At least we have the UnderNet," Percy replied. "We can contact each other easily."

"That's a good point," Melody shrugged. "Let's go on."

The kids came across some lasers. Alphys awkwardly called and explained their deal. They were blue and orange. Blue ones you couldn't move, and orange ones you had to move. Cody gripped his burnt pan.

He was okay with these things, but they weren't his favourite. Undyne's battle was easier. He was surprised how easy it was. He was going to say something, but then Melody…

Papyrus' battle had been slightly difficult, and Toriel's was a heartache. Faye holding a knife at Toriel had creeped Cody out a little.

He hadn't had a mother figure in a long time. He missed Toriel. He liked Papyrus and Undyne as well… even if Papyrus' spaghetti was… questionable.

ALPHYS posted a picture. It was a trash can with several pink, glittery filters over it.

ALPHYS: CUte PIC OF ME RIGHT NOW ^.^

~MelodyTrust~: How many people think they're trash cans?

👍SUPERMAN👍: WE CAN POST PICTURES?! WAIT A SEC!

👍SUPERMAN👍 posted a picture. It was a picture of Brayden grinning and flexing.

👍SUPERMAN👍: YEAH THAT'S THE STUFF!

~MelodyTrust~: Oh for goodness' sake…

i'mfayedingaway added SUPERMAN'S picture to her favourites.

FriskyBits:D: :O

i'mfayedingaway: oh that's… um… i'm going now.

Alphys suddenly rang. "Alphys here!" She took a deep breath of relief. "Th… the northern door will stay locked until you… s-solve the puzzles on the right and left."

"Puzzles?" Brayden asked. He groaned. "REALLY?!"

"I… I think you s-should g-g-go to the right first!" Alphys squeaked, hanging up.

Ahead of the kids were split paths led to the puzzles.

"Let's do this!" Frisk chirped, heading to the right.

"I'm gonna go help 'em," Clover said, trailing after Frisk. "Y'all stick together."

Cody went over to Percy. "Hey, let's go and solve the puzzle on the left."

"Alright," Percy said, standing up.

The two went left. The puzzle was blocked off by a blue laser.

"Alphys! Here!" Alphys rang them. "Th-that blue laser seems totally impassable! B-b-but! As the Royal Scientist, I h-have some tricks up my sleeve! I'll h-hack into the Hotland database and take it out!"

Alphys did just that. The laser disappeared.

"Wow!" Cody clapped. "Nice work!"

"Cody," Percy spoke up. "I was speaking to some monsters (who looked like anime school girls) and they said the puzzles reactivated randomly. It means someone must have hacked them, like Alphys just did. That means, if I can figure this out… I can hack the rest of the puzzles, then we will have no more puzzles to solve. Then I will be the puzzle master. Ha ha ha." His laugh was dry and emotionless. "Oh no, I sounded like a stereotypical Disney villain."

"Wow!" Cody grinned. "My head hurts!"

"Yes," Percy replied. "Go ahead and solve the puzzle yourself. I'm going to start hacking."

He sat down and played with his phone. Cody gazed at the puzzle ahead of him. His head began hurting more.

"I'm not very good with puzzles…" Cody admitted. "Percy, sorry to bother you, but could you help me with this?"

"Ah, Hatsune Miku my beloved," Percy replied, captivated by his phone.

Cody sighed. "Percy, knock it off. This is a team effort."

Percy jumped and backed away.

"Fine, I'll do it," Cody grunted.

He went inside a little room. There was a puzzle inside. It was a bunch of boxes with arrows pointing at them. He read the instructions.

(Shoot the opposing ship!) (Move the boxes to complete your mission.)

Cody pressed some buttons. He moved some boxes around. Next to the arrow on his side were two bullets.

"Okay," he mumbled. "I can do this."

He moved more boxes. He tried to create a clear path to shoot at the 'opposing ship'.

PercyLovesAnime: Accomplices, when you're finished with the puzzles, come to me. I've got to tell you all something about other puzzles. Also, listen to these songs...

Cody saw Percy had posted a lot of songs about something called 'vocaloid', as well as various anime soundtracks. Cody sighed. He didn't really expect anything else from Percy.

👍SUPERMAN👍: ARE WE GETTING MORE PUZZLES!?

i'mfayedingaway: i like all these vocaloid songs but they're kinda sad…

~MelodyTrust~: Where even are you, Percy? You and Cody just walked off.

PercyLovesAnime: Cody is solving a puzzle and I'm hacking the puzzles.

Cookingismylie6: Uh huh…

"Need some help?" Frisk popped up next to Cody.

"Oh!" Cody jumped. "You're done with the other puzzle already?"

"Yep," Frisk grinned. "They're pretty simple, actually. Watch this!"

Frisk solved the puzzle in a few moments, nodding to themself.

"Wow, you're good," Cody clapped.

Frisk shrugged. "Just doing my best!"

"And modest," Cody grinned.

Frisk blushed. "You flatterer. You're just as modest."

Cody giggled, putting his arm around Frisk's shoulder once as the two made their way back to the others.


The kids jumped over some more vents. They reached a clean, tiled floor. Clover was suspicious. Cody grinned. It looked like a kitchen… which could only mean one thing: cooking!

The next room, however, was completely black. The only light was Percy's phone.

Alphys rang. "H-hey, it's kind of dark in there, isn't it? Don't worry! I'll hack into the light system and-" The lights switched on by themselves. "Oh…?"

"One step ahead of you." Percy said. His phone lost connection. "Dang it."

However, the kids could clearly see they were in a pale brown kitchen. There was a kitchen bench with ingredients, a microwave, an oven, a fridge, cupboards and other things you'd find in a regular kitchen.

"Cooking!" Cody cheered.

"FOOD!" Brayden yelled.

"Anime," Percy said for no reason.

"Mettaton," Faye said, eyeing the ground.

"Oh no." Alphys stuttered.

Mettaton appeared, wearing a chef's hat. "OHHH YES! WELCOME, BEAUTIES, TO THE UNDERGROUND'S PREMIER COOKING SHOW! Cooking With A Killer Robot."

"Sounds awful." Melody commented, crinkling her nose.

"Cooking…?" Cody repeated, laughing nervously.

"PREHEAT YOUR OVENS, BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A VERY SPECIAL RECIPE FOR YOU TODAY!" Mettaton continued. "WE'RE GOING TO BE MAKING… A SEVEN-LAYER CAKE!"

"Ooh!" Cody cheered, the only one invested. (Well, so was Brayden, but only for the food.)

"MY LOVELY ASSISTANTS HERE WILL GATHER THE INGREDIENTS." Mettaton said. "EVERYONE GIVE THEM ALL A BIG HAND!" There was a clapping sound effect; confetti came down from the ceiling. "WE'LL NEED SUGAR, MILK, AND EGGS. GO FOR IT, SWEETHEARTS!"

Cody spotted said ingredients on the back counter. He headed over there and picked them up. It was sort of a natural thing now. He placed them on Mettaton's counter.

"PERFECT!" Mettaton cheered. "GREAT JOB, BEAUTIFUL! WE'VE GOT ALL OF THE INGREDIENTS WE NEED TO BAKE A CAKE!"

"Well, honestly, I'd add a few more ingredients." Cody said, tilting his head. "We'd also need butter if we're going to put it in the oven, icing sugar, flour-"

"YOU'RE RIGHT, DARLING… BUT OH MY! WAIT JUST A MAGNIFICENT MOMENT!" Mettaton waved his hand. "HOW COULD I FORGET! WE'RE MISSING THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT OF ALL!"

"It has to be flour," Cody said, folding his arms.

"WELL, THAT TOO, BUT NOT QUITE WHAT I HAD IN MIND," Mettaton replied. He held up a chainsaw. "IT'S SEVEN HUMAN SOULS!"

"Death." Faye mumbled.

Cody yelped. His sister pulled him behind her and held up her gun. Brayden put his fist in his palm. Melody looked like she was ready to kick Mettaton in the wheel. Frisk held up their stick, Percy hiding behind them. Suddenly, Mettaton's phone rang.

"HELLO…?" Mettaton asked, clearly irritated. "I'M KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING HERE."

"W-wait a second!" Alphys squeaked. "Couldn't you make a… couldn't you use a…"

"A substitution?" Percy suggested.

"Yeah, that!" Alphys chirped.

"... A SUBSTITUTION?" Mettaton asked. "YOU MEAN, USE A DIFFERENT, NON-HUMAN INGREDIENT? ...WHY?"

"Uhh… what if someone's…" Alphys paused. "Vegan?"

"... VEGAN." Mettaton said.

"Oh, I make vegan food all the time!" Cody spoke up. "Some of it is really good!"

"YES!" Mettaton exclaimed. "THAT'S A BRILLIANT IDEA, ALPHYS! ACTUALLY, I HAPPEN TO HAVE AN OPTION RIGHT HERE! MTT-BRAND-ALWAYS-CONVENIENT-HUMAN-SOUL-FLAVOUR-SUBSTITUTE! A CAN OF WHICH… IS JUST OVER ON THAT COUNTER!"

There was indeed a can over on a counter.

"Convenient indeed," Percy mumbled. "What would the taste be like?"

"Do you really want to know?" Melody grumbled.

"Guys, we need to focus!" Frisk called out. "We're running out of time!"

"I have a feeling that can's gonna be a trap." Clover said, folding her arms.

She was right. As soon as the kids approached the can, the desk it was sitting on grew up like a ladder. It went very high into the… sky…?

"OH COME ON!" Brayden yelled, shaking his fist.

"That is not fair!" Clover complained.

"Exactly!" Melody agreed. "There's no way we can reach that!"

"BY THE WAY, OUR SHOW RUNS ON A STRICT SCHEDULE," Mettaton added. "IF YOU CAN'T GET THE CAN IN THE NEXT ONE MINUTE… WE'LL JUST HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL PLAN! BETTER START CLIMBING, DARLING!"

"It's physically impossible for us to reach the top in one minute by climbing," Percy spoke up. "We're screwed. Oh no."

Cody bit his lip. He wasn't ready to die yet. Suddenly, the phone rang.

"Oh no!" Alphys squeaked. "There's not enough time to climb up! F-f-fortunately, I might have a plan! All of your phones have a few… features. You guys see that huge button that says 'JETPACK'? Watch this!"

Everyone's phones turned into a jetpack.

"There!" Alphys cried. "You should have just enough fuel to reach the top! Now, get up there, kids!"

The kids took off. Cody wobbled. This jetpack was slightly hard to pilot. Frisk grabbed onto his arm, winking. Seemed they were a natural.

"MELODY OH WHAT THE HECK!" Brayden yelled, crashing into Melody.

"Brayden!" Melody yelled back. "Get off me!"

"Mettaton is throwing cake ingredients at us," Percy said emotionlessly. "Uh oh."

Eggs were raining down from the sky. Cody covered his head with his frying pan. He caught about twenty eggs. The other kids were flying around, trying to avoid the egg rain. This was followed by flour.

"Ack!" Melody cried. "It's getting all over me!"

"Then move outta the way!" Clover yelled at her.

"I can't, Brayden damaged my jetpack!" Melody complained.

"I DID NOT!" Brayden spat, glaring at her.

"Milk rain." Percy commented.

Milk was coming down now.

"My hair is ruined!" Melody shrieked.

"No one cares about your hair, Melody!" Clover snapped.

"Melody!" Cody flew over to her. "Do you want my pan? You can cover your head!"

Melody accepted Cody's pan, using it as an umbrella.

"Some people care, Clover!" she snapped.

Meanwhile, Percy was fixing something on Brayden's jetpack. Frisk was keeping an eye on Faye, who smiled at them. They returned the beam.

Shockingly enough, the group managed to reach the top successfully.

"MY MY," Mettaton spoke up. "IT SEEMS YOU'VE BESTED ME. BUT ONLY BECAUSE YOU HAD THE HELP OF THE BRILLIANT DOCTOR ALPHYS! OH, I LOATHE TO THINK OF WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO YOU WITHOUT HER!"

The kids glanced at each other.

"What 'bout the substitute thingy?" Clover asked.

"OH YES!" Mettaton exclaimed. "ABOUT THE SUBSTITUTION… HAVEN'T YOU EVER SEEN A COOKING SHOW BEFORE? I ALREADY BAKED THE CAKE AHEAD OF TIME! SO FORGET IT! TOODLES!"

Mettaton left. The kids returned to the ground.

"Well that was pointless." Percy commented.

"You don't say…" Melody groaned.

"At least it was kind of fun!" Cody said, shrugging. He did enjoy it a little bit, if he were honest.

"Wow!" Alphys rung. "We… we did it! We… really did it! Great job out there, team!"

"YEAH!" Brayden punched the air. "GO US!"

"W-well, uh, anyway, let's keep heading forward!" Alphys said, before hanging up.

"Something about that felt… fake," Clover uttered.

"Well, sis, it's a scripted TV show," Cody told her.

"I mean…" Clover made a face. "I don't know… somethin' feels off."

Frisk nodded in agreement, brow furrowed in thought.

The kids continued walking. They came to a view of a strange-looking, metal machine. It was sitting in the lava. Cody stared at it for a bit. It was quite ominous. He wondered what it was for. Percy was taking notes.

"That is fascinating," he said, looking excited. "What is it?"

"S-see that building in the distance?" Alphys rang. "That's the CORE. The source of all power for the underground. It converts geothermal energy into magical electricity, by… uhh, anyway, that's where we're going to go. In the CORE is an elevator directly to ASGORE's castle. And from there… you guys can go home."

"Heck yeah!" Brayden cheered.

"Finally," Clover adjusted her hat.

"Wait," Faye spoke up. "That means we're getting closer to the end. To home… and to… the Fallen Angel.."

Frisk patted her shoulder.

"We'll be fine, Faye," they told her. "We'll be able to stop them. Right, guys?"

"Right," Clover replied. She put her arms around Faye and Cody. "And we'll get home. Trust me, y'all, the bad guys never win."

Cody hated to admit it, but he had a bad feeling. He couldn't pinpoint why, exactly. Everything would be fine, right?